


Sick Day

by girlygirl14534



Series: The Adventures of Amy [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Jewish Bucky Barnes, Multi, Soup, matzo ball soup, nursed back to health, sick, sick day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:55:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26985538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlygirl14534/pseuds/girlygirl14534
Summary: Reader has a cold and Steve and Bucky nurse her back to health!
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Reader
Series: The Adventures of Amy [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903927
Comments: 6
Kudos: 67





	Sick Day

You were supposed to be working children’s storytime with Damien, but he was too busy hitting on the MILFs to help out with the arts and crafts activity, leaving you alone to get sneezed on by the very adorable snot-nosed brats. You weren’t necessarily shocked when you got a sore throat a few days later. You downed several Emergen-Cs to try to prevent illness but they didn’t do anything, which is why one day you woke up feeling like you had been hit by a truck. Everything ached, your throat was so sore you weren’t sure if you still had a voice, and you could barely breathe out of your nostrils. Perfect. You groaned with pain as you contemplated getting up and showering.

“You alright sweetheart?” Steve mumbled sleepily next to you. 

You just coughed in response. For like, five minutes. 

“Uh-oh,” Bucky said, “our girl is definitely not alright,” he teased. 

You were too tired to even roll your eyes. You just shut your eyes and groaned some more. You felt a hand on your forehead. 

“That’s a fever,” Steve said. 

His hand was soon replaced by cool metal and you sighed deeply, causing your boys to chuckle. You felt a kiss on your forehead as hands slid under you, picking you up. Your whole body hurt, and you wondered how it could betray you like that overnight. 

“Darn those snot-nosed kids and their germs!” you said, and Bucky laughed as he carried you into the bathroom, where Steve had already started running a bath. 

Bucky gently stripped you and laid you in the bath, kneeling by the tub and bathing you. The warm water helped soothe your aches a bit. When you got out of the water you began shivering uncontrollably, and after he dried you off he held you close to his chest so you could come to a stable temperature. He helped you into some leggings and one of Steve’s sweatshirts, which was huge and cozy on you. You got back in Steve’s bed. 

Steve always made you tea, and you gave him extra special instructions this time on how to prepare your #1 defense against illness: a strong mug of green tea with lots of honey and fresh lemon and ginger. You sipped your tea slowly and sighed into it. When you were finished, you cuddled deeper into Bucky’s side. He slowly stroked your head until you fell asleep. 

You woke up hours later, alone, and padded into the living room, where the boys were setting out some food. They had gone to your favorite Thai place and gotten you the “bland” vegetable soup that you loved so much. You slurped it happily as you sat between them on the couch. Bucky was enjoying his extra-spicy pad thai, confident in the knowledge that Steve would never try to steal off his plate again after the gaeng tai pla incident. Ever since then Steve always ordered himself a thai tea just in case. Steve a different entree every time you went, and today it appeared to be a chicken dish with cashews in it. 

Sitting mindlessly in front of the TV is the best thing you can do when you’re sick, so that’s what you did. The boys knew you loved reality TV, but they hadn’t watched much with you. That was about to change. You didn’t want their first foray into the world of reality TV to be too jarring, so you decided to start them off light with a little bit of HGTV. You supposed you shouldn’t have been so surprised that they were super into all the home renovation shows. They each had their own design input and thoughts on how they would have changed the homes, sometimes bickering over the best paint color or light fixtures. You were so out of it that you could barely follow the minimal plot of the shows, but you loved hearing how animatedly the boys were talking. 

You focused on eating your soup and when you were done the boys made you eat a little rice, even though it hurt to swallow solid things. Now that you had food in your system they gave you some cold medicine, and you cuddled into Steve as the marathon continued, loving the feel of his cuddles; his soothing touch stroking your back and his comfortable warmth were helping to ease some of your aches and pains.

You were too dizzy and tired to do much but sit there and occasionally sip tea. They kept trying to get you to eat a little bit more, drink a little bit more, but you didn’t want to, and having to repeat yourself hurt your throat. If you were less miserable you might’ve found all of Steve and Bucky’s worrying cute. But you just wanted to lay there. At one point you buried your face into Bucky’s chest, clutched his shirt, and exhaled frustratedly. He took the hint. 

“Alright, alright. I give up for today,” he said. “You’re worse than Steve,” he laughed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve asked. 

“You know exactly what I mean. You were a terrible patient. Never took your medicine, never wanted to rest. Even when you were sick as a dog you still had an attitude, just like Princess Amy over here.” 

“Well, _you_ are a particularly persistent nurse, which is why Amy and I are completely within our rights to have an attitude.” You hummed in ascent, glad Steve was fighting this fight for you.

“Well, _excuse me_ for being concerned!” 

You laughed a little at his tone, even though it hurt to laugh. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, especially since Bucky stopped bugging you about getting more to eat and drink. When it was time for bed you made Bucky sleep in the middle. Normally you didn’t mind Steve’s limbs draped across your body; you actually kind of liked it, but you were congested and didn’t want to feel suffocated by his weight and warmth. So you slept next to Bucky. As you fell asleep you were confident that your day of rest would pay off and you would feel better the next morning. You at least couldn’t feel any worse, right? 

Wrong. 

The next day you were even worse. You had never been this sick before. Your head hurt and your sinuses were congested and throbbing. It hurt to swallow. It hurt to move. You were in such bad shape that you couldn’t even get annoyed by your boyfriends anymore. You would happily let them take care of you and do everything they told you to do. 

You had to step up the TV drama to get through this, so you moved to TLC. They had shows about extreme couponing that the boys could appreciate from living through the Great Depression, Steve remarking how his mother would definitely have been a couponer. Four Weddings came on and the boys felt the extreme outrage of watching the brides low-score each other over the most trivial things. They were very invested in scoring the weddings themselves. 

“Those flowers are so tacky,” Bucky said. 

“I kind of like them,” Steve said. 

“Well, you officially get zero say in our wedding flowers,” Bucky said. “Amy, don’t tell me that you like those arrangements too? I’d hate to revoke your flower vote.” 

You went with the joke, but it made you wonder if Bucky seriously thought about your wedding day, about marriage with you. The thought made you feel warm and fuzzy inside, but you tried not to dwell on it, as even in the best-case scenario it would probably be a while before you were all walking down the aisle. 

“I don’t love them,” you responded. You got out your phone and navigated to the Floral tab on your Wedding Pinterest board and handed it over to Bucky. 

“These are beautiful, Amy.” 

“I know,” you said. 

Soon Bucky was navigating through all the sections of your wedding board, commenting on one detail or another, giving his input. Steve occasionally threw in his ideas too, and especially loved the idea of having a midnight snack. 

The content on TV switched from weddings to all the shows with families with lots of children, including families with quintuplets and sextuplets. 

“Wait. _How many_ kids do they have?!” Bucky asked.

“And that woman gave birth to all of them?!” Steve asked. 

You nodded. If you were in the mood you would have laughed at their shocked faces. You had forgotten what it was like to be someone who had never heard of Jon and Kate Plus 8 or 19 Kids and Counting. 

“D’yall want babies?” you murmured sleepily, absently. 

They both sighed heavily. 

“Quit worryin’ about your jobs. I asked if you wanted kids, not if it was practical.” 

“Yeah,” Steve said. 

“I do too,” Bucky said. 

“You two would be excellent fathers. And husbands,” you said, thinking of all the wedding talk. If you were in better shape you might’ve stopped yourself from all this discussion of the future when you had only just made things official with them. But you weren’t. So you didn’t. 

“I want that with both of you, I do,” Steve said. If there was a “but” coming, he didn’t say it out loud, however you couldn’t miss the sadness in his voice. 

You soon fell asleep and woke up hours later, the boys glued to the TV, as a 90 Day Fiance marathon had started up. You should’ve known that one of your all-time favorite series would perk you right up, and you fought through the sore throat to explain plot lines to the boys, who were instantly hooked. You couldn’t wait to tell them about the numerous spin-offs they had to enjoy. 

...

The next day your condition was the same, not worse, and you took that as a good sign. The boys, however, were very worried about you. 

“Maybe we should take you to the doctor?” Steve said.

“I’m fine!” you said. “Healthy—” you had to take a break for a coughing fit, “—as a—” more coughs, “horse,” you finally spluttered out. 

“Yeah, a horse on its way to the Elmer’s factory maybe,” Bucky said. “It’s time to break out the big guns.” 

You were left to wonder what that meant as he abruptly got up and left, leaving you on the couch with Steve. He returned half an hour later with lots of groceries and started working in the kitchen. You had progressed from TLC to Bravo, and you had picked out the spiciest episodes to watch, explaining everything to the boys so they could get the maximum impact of the drama. Bucky spent a while in the kitchen before joining you on the couch, but he would periodically go back to the kitchen to check on things. Even though your sense of smell was impaired by the congestion, you and Steve agreed that it smelled amazing. 

“I can’t believe you’re making Nonna’s matzo ball soup! It’s been so long since I’ve had it!”

“You recognize it just by smell?” Bucky asked with a smile. 

“Of course! I've had it enough times, haven't I?” 

“That’s true,” Bucky conceded. “But that was a long time ago.” 

“Smelling that makes it feel like yesterday. Brings me right back to the kitchen in your apartment, napping by the radiator to keep warm.” 

“Yeah,” Bucky said, sounding far away. 

The soup was eventually ready and Bucky ladled a big bowl for each of you. It was amazing. Soothing and comforting and delicious. Flavorful with just the right amount of salt and heat. You had previously thought your mom made the best soup on the planet. Her chicken soup had just been knocked to second place. You were blown away by the soup and you told Bucky as much. 

“I’m cured!” you said. 

“Yeah, alright,” Bucky said, waving away the compliments. 

“I’m serious! I feel like I could run a marathon!” You jumped up to mime running but you didn’t make it past the standing up part. You should never have stood up that quickly. You started to feel a little woozy. Bucky jumped up, laughing, helping you back down to the couch and holding you close to him. He kissed you on the head. 

“Alright, I believe you,” Bucky said. “Just maybe proclaim your appreciation from right here on the couch.” 

The three of you laughed. You finished your soup as Teresa pushed Andy at the Season 2 New Jersey reunion. Steve imitated her, throwing pillows across the room. 

“YOU ARE A PIECE OF GARBAGE!” he yelled in his best Jersey accent. 

Laughing hurt and led to a coughing fit, but it was worth it. Bucky was laughing so hard that tears fell from his eyes. 

“If you like that, there are so many other iconic Real Housewives lines,” you said. 

“Really? Like what?” Steve asked eagerly. 

“Where to begin? ‘You’re a slut from the 90s’ is a favorite of mine. ‘Who gon check me boo,’ ‘Why don’t you have a piece of bread and maybe you’ll calm down a little’. Ooh! ‘Close your legs to married men’ is a classic.” 

“Okay, we _have_ to watch that last one!” Steve said. 

So you went down the Housewives rabbit hole. You got to discussing the best taglines. 

“I’m going to start saying ‘The crown is heavy, darlings, so just leave it where it belongs’ every chance I get,” Bucky said. 

“If you were a Real Housewife, what would your tagline be?” you asked. 

“Winter Soldier in the streets, Summer Lover in the sheets,” he said without hesitation. 

“You’re a natural! You were born to be a Real Housewife.”

“I don’t think I could do it: having to hear about their trivial problems with a straight face.” 

“That’s what makes it fun! Most of the problems are so ridiculous that you can just enjoy the drama,” Steve said. 

“What’s your tagline, then?” Bucky asked. 

Steve took a minute to think about it. “I may have been sleep for 70 years, but honey I’ve always been woke.” 

You and Bucky were stunned into silence. “Damn, Steve! I bet if you wrote to Andy Cohen he’d add you to the New York cast.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d rather join the Jersey cast than the New York one.” 

Bucky was in the middle of saying, “I actually agree—” when there was an insistent knock at the door.

Steve went to get it, but didn’t open the door all the way to let the mystery guest in. You felt Bucky’s body language change as he stiffened and listened in on the conversation. 

The stranger had a loud voice. “You’ve been ignoring my messages, Rogers. That hurts my feelings,” he said mockingly.

You heard Steve respond but you couldn’t make out what he said. 

“Not available?! To do your job?!!” the man said incredulously. 

Steve said something back and shut the door. The man pounded at it but Steve just came back to the couch like nothing had happened. 

“What’s going on? Who was that?” 

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Uh-uh. Y’all don’t get to do that with me.” 

“Amy—”

“You’re lucky I’m in a weakened state right now so I can’t interrogate you. Just tell me.” 

“The man at the door was Nick Fury. He created the Avengers and heads S.H.I.E.L.D.” 

“Okay… why was he mad?” 

“He wants me to go on a mission. Don’t worry, I said no.”

“I don’t want to stand in the way of you saving the world or anything. I can take care of myself.” 

“The world will be fine,” Bucky said. “There are a lot of people who could successfully complete this mission.” 

“But he wants _you_ to go?” you asked Steve. 

“Both of us,” Bucky responded. 

“Seriously, I don’t want to get in the way of your jobs,” you said. 

“You’re not—” Steve was saying when there was another knock at the door. This time Nat came in. 

“You know, every time you piss Fury off he comes bitching to me. Maria first, of course. And then to me,” she said, flopping into an armchair. 

“We’re not going, so if you’re here to convince us—”

“Nope. That’s Fury’s job. But I had to at least come up here and pretend to ‘talk some sense into you’.” She turned her attention to you. “How are you feeling?” 

“Pretty lousy, to be honest, but I’m on the mend. I’ve got some really hot nurses looking after me.” 

“I see.” 

“Would you like some soup?” Bucky asked. 

“Yes,” you answered quickly for her. She looked at you curiously. “Trust me, you want some. It’ll soothe aches you didn’t even know you had.” 

Bucky felt your forehead. “Delirium is setting in. Maybe we should get her to a doctor.” 

“Shut up,” you said, but you couldn’t bring yourself to swat his hand away, instead nuzzling into his touch. He kissed your forehead. 

Nat got up and went to the kitchen, finding a bowl and helping herself to some soup. She sat down and tasted it. 

“Amy’s right,” was all she said. High praise coming from her. She turned her attention to the TV, where Lisa Rinna was breaking a wine glass against the lunch table in Amsterdam and brandishing it in Kim’s face. 

At the end of the episode Nat checked her phone and typed into it. “Sam’s on his way up,” she said. And sure enough, Sam was soon seated on the other living room armchair with his own bowl of soup. 

“So this is where everyone was. Thanks for the quick response, guys,” he said. 

“Sorry, the drama sucked me in,” Nat said. 

“You’re all lucky I’m in a forgiving mood,” he said. 

“It’s the magic of the soup,” you said. 

Bucky rolled his eyes but Sam nodded. “Next time I’m sick, I’m coming here,” Sam said. 

“You expect us to nurse you back to health?” Steve asked. 

“Yeah. And I want this exact same soup, too.”

“Your next sick day might come sooner rather than later. Are you and Nat sure you want to be around me?” you asked. “I know these two can’t get sick, but y’all can.” 

“Don’t worry about me. My immune system is in tip-top shape,” Sam said. 

“Famous last words,” you grumbled. 

Sam had very strong Housewives opinions, which made him an ideal watching buddy. A man who could appreciate reality television was one after your own heart. You learned that Sam often forced Bucky to watch the Bachelor with him, and that all his years of watching the Bachelor influenced his input into Bucky’s first date with you. That explained a lot. 

Sam and Nat stayed for several hours, and with Sam around you didn’t even have to explain all the plotlines anymore. Him taking over for you meant you could cuddle into your boys and occasionally doze off. Sam and Nat left several hours later and you, Steve, and Bucky got ready for bed. They settled you gently between them on the bed. 

“Thank you for taking care of me these past few days,” you said. “But I don’t want you to feel like you have to.” 

“We _want_ to,” Steve said. 

You hated feeling like an imposition, especially knowing that they were skipping a mission in order to be here nursing you back to health. When you left home from college, you knew that the days of your mom caring for you when you were sick were over. Since then you’d taken care of yourself when you were sick. You loved being taken care of, but a part of you was hesitant to get used to all of this nice treatment, afraid it would eventually end. 

Steve pulled you close to him and buried his face in your neck. One arm wrapped around your torso while his leg draped over yours. “I don’t want you to worry about a thing, okay?” he said with a kiss on the cheek. 

You didn’t want to argue with him, but—

“Not a thing,” Bucky said, interrupting your thoughts with a kiss to your other cheek. 

_Fine._ You relaxed. 

Steve started laughing. 

“What are you laughing at?” Bucky asked. 

“I’m just imagining Fury’s reaction if he knew we ditched a mission to watch Real Housewives and eat matzo ball soup all day.” 

Bucky started laughing too. You fell asleep to the sweet sounds of your boyfriends’ laughter. 

The next day you woke up and were finally starting to feel a little bit better, meaning you didn’t need to make the move to Love Island, sparing the boys from your terrible British accent. The boys still kept you confined to the couch, resting and eating soup, and you were better able to appreciate the on-screen drama of the Real Housewives as your health improved. It wasn’t long before your two nurses had you back in perfect health. 


End file.
